1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hand trucks, in particular, to a hand truck specially constructed to transport durable medical equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
With health care costs on the rise, many patients with chronic conditions seek to treat their disorders in the comfort and privacy of their own homes. This has created a great demand for at home durable medical equipment including, for example, oxygen tanks, oxygen concentrators and bed split spring assemblies. The unusual size and weight of this equipment presents a plethora of challenges to those responsible for its delivery. Nothing in the prior art shows a single device capable of delivering all the abovementioned types of durable home medical equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,654,493 to Kernkamp discloses a oxygen tank truck. The truck has a vertical frame with horizontal side bars adapted to interface with the rounded surface of an oxygen tank. Horizontal clamps hold the tanks in place and the truck rolls on several attached wheels. The hand truck disclosed in the ""493 patent differs from the present invention in that it lacks extension arms and extension forks and thus cannot be used with other types of medical equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,195,433 to Moriarty discloses an improved hand truck having a fixed loading platform and load engaging arms which are adapted to be positioned to retain a load on the platform. The ""433 invention differs from the present invention in that the present invention has extension arms which are foldable into a non-extended position and the present invention has extension forks not present in the ""433.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,183 to Phillips discloses a load transporting dolly. The dolly has a frame with a flange on the lower end thereof and a foot to be positioned in spaced relation with the flange. The invention further has arms positioned normal to the frame for holding loads. The ""183 invention differs from the present invention in that the present invention has two extendable forks as well as a bracket disposed upon the toe plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,826 to Scholder discloses a two wheeled hand truck with attachments and an elevating mechanism incorporated into the body. The ""826 invention differs from the present invention in, among other ways, that it lacks foldable extension arms and foldable extension forks.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a durable medical equipment hand truck solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention is a hand truck modified to transport several common types of durable medical equipment including oxygen tanks, oxygen concentrators and split spring bed assemblies. The hand truck has a frame with a top end and a bottom end, made from two vertical rails connected by a handle, and a plurality of transverse bars. An axle and a pair of wheels disposed at the bottom of the frame serve as the pivot point of the frame when the device is lifting objects. The axle and wheels also permit smooth travel over rough ground. A pair of upper arms have tubular ends that are pivotally mounted to a bar on the top end of the frame. The arms pivot up and down around a horizontal axis. The hand truck also has a pair of lower forks having attachment ends that are fixed to a horizontally disposed bar disposed at the bottom end of the frame. The forks are capable of rotating around a horizontal axis. The hand truck also has a flat generally rectangular foot fixed normally to the bottom end of the frame. Disposed upon the foot is a C shaped bracket.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a modified hand truck.
It is another object of the invention to provide a modified hand truck capable of transporting several common pieces of durable medical equipment.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a hand truck that can transport several unwieldily pieces of equipment and is also capable of being stored in a small space.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.